Teaching Forgotten Histories

Oftentimes, History classes throughout K-12th grade focus heavily on major events in US and World history. The Civil War, World War II, Vietnam, Rome, and the American Revolution. All too often, these topics make up the majority of a history class. Speaking from personal experience, i must have learned and relearned about The Civil war a half dozen times, and the same goes for many others.

The truth is, there is far more to history than these major events- and even then, when teaching these major events, History teachers must make an effort to include more perspectives. The linked article discusses in depth teaching strategies that allow students to learn history from multiple perspectives, leading to a more diverse understanding.

For example, when teaching about Rome, teachers should utilize sources not just from the elite emperors and generals, but smaller sources that come from farmers, and merchants, that give a deeper look into the basic lives of the average individuals. When looking at major historical figures, sources from multiple perspectives should be included. If a lesson is covering an ancient civilization, it should cover not only how that civilization saw itself, but how other civilizations saw it as well.

Changing the Way we Interact with Students

Children often see their teachers, and other adults besides their parents, as role models and "giants," as stated in John Amaechi's interview about the importance of being present in a school environment. In this interview, Amaechi talks about the large impact that teachers and educators can have on children, due to them being considered huge figures in their students' lives.

Amaechi tells a story of a boy he was talking to, who ran away from him crying after he recieved a phone call and went to mute it. He later asked the boy what had happened, and the boy said that he "assumed that you'd have something better to do." Amaechi shares how important it is to make sure your students feel like they're your priority, and to make sure you never make them feel worse about themselves by keeping a benevolent attitude.

This can be accomplished in future classrooms by continuously reaching out to students, offering personal help as well as other resources, and maintaining students' trust in you by not downplaying your power as an educator.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syKJFUcdAls (A great example of re-enacting historical things, in order to engage students with a topic)

Making History Fun for Students

Its a common thought throughout the minds of students that History is an inherently boring subject. Many students find the topic boring, or pointless. Its easy for many people to think back to their early education, and remember dreading the upcoming hour of learning about a two thousand year old dead guy.

The question that History teachers today, and of the future, will constantly face, is simple- How can we make History a topic that engages students? Well, the article linked to this photo goes into depth regarding strategies to make History a fun, and enjoyable topic.

Firstly, it is suggested that History teachers take a multimedia approach to history lectures. Rather than spending 1 hour lecturing, mix in animated videos, readings, and actual sources from relevant historical parties.

Students can also debate historical events, allowing them to develop their own opinions, and fight for them, while also teaching them to listen to others. Re-enactments of historical debates, with students playing key historical figures, is also recommended by the article.

Finally- field trips. History is a topic that oftentimes cannot be fully appreciated simply through words. Teachers should make an effort to take students, once or twice a year, on field trips to historical sites or museums. Not only will this allow students to get out of the classroom encironment, it will let them look on history class in a far more positive light.

Appropriately Discussing Sensitive Histories

As a future history teacher, I wonder how exactly I'll go about teaching some of the most interesting or important parts of history, since many of them are extremely violent or complicated, such as The Holocaust, WWI, Slavery, Race, etc. The last thing we as teachers would want is our students being innapropriate when learning about sensitive topics, becoming upset by what we talked baout, or complaints from parents; so how do we overcome this?

An article written by Carolina Public Humanities lists a plethera of tips for preparing for and talking about sensitive history topics. In the article, CPH starts off by expressing the importance of preparing to talk about your topic by making sure it is approved by peers, administators, and informing the parents of students. When it comes to the lesson itself, it's important to allow time for processing and reflecting together, so that the students don't go home confused or upset about what they learned. Also, its not necessary to completely go in detail about what you're teaching. Know your audience (students), know their maturity, and calmly handle any situations. It's also important to establish a community within your classroom, and ensure that every student will be comfortable with the topic and way you're teaching.

When it comes to general teaching, I imagine myself usually following the previous history teaching pedagogy and make everything fun. When it comes to more intense or controversial topics, I'll have to take far more precaution for the students so that everyone is comfortable with what we're learning about, while not dodging any of the important points or controversial topics. Talking about these important aspects of history will help students at an earlier age develop a critical eye and form their own ideas and opinions. Teachers should not avoid talking about potentially controversial topics that are important for students to learn about as they grow up, or this will add to "neutrality" and unencourage students to form their own opinions.

How to Overcome American Exceptionalism in Teaching

American Exceptionalism is the concept that America is a unique, perfect nation, in a world of other countries which are not. Its important to note that there is a difference between this exceptionalism, and patriotism. Patriotism can be a healthy, positive love for ones country, whereas exceptionalism promotes the belief of ones country being perfect.

In elementary and middle school classrooms throughout the United States, America is frequently presented as the "Good guys" of History. It is not until High School that many American students will begin to learn that the United States is not country free of flaws and past atrocities.

This perception is deeply damaging to growing students, as it falsely leads them to believe that the United States is, and for most of its history, always was a flawless nation.

According to the article by Vinay A. Ramesh, "By presenting a sanitized and palatable American history, we instill in our children a type of far-reaching and dangerous propaganda." In saying this, it is to be understood that when teaching American history, teachers must make a conscious effort to teach in an unbiased fashion, ensuring children understand Americas past flaws, but also understand that despite these flaws and issues, America is not inherently bad.

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